Helen Duncan
Helen Duncan (25 November 1897 – 6 December 1956) was a Scottish medium best known as the second last person to be imprisoned under the English Witchcraft Act of 1735, in 1944. Jane Rebecca Yorke was also imprisoned later the same year. Early life (Victoria) Helen MacFarlane was born in Callander, Perthshire on 25 November 1897, the daughter of a slater.Gaskill, Malcolm. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2008) At school, to the distress of her mother (a member of the Presbyterian church), she alarmed her fellow pupils with her dire prophecies and hysterical behaviour. In 1916 she married Henry Duncan, a cabinet maker and wounded war veteran, who was supportive of her supposed supernatural talents. In 1926 she developed from clairvoyant to medium by offering séances in which she appeared to summon the spirits of recently deceased persons by emitting ectoplasm from her mouth. A mother of six, she also worked part-time in a bleach factory. Practising medium In 1931, Duncan's method was examined by the London Spiritual Alliance. After an initial positive review, the Alliance denounced her as a fraud. Harry Price (director of the National Laboratory of Psychical Research) was also sceptical and had Helen Duncan perform a number of test séances. She was suspected of swallowing cheesecloth which was then regurgitated as "ectoplasm". She reacted violently at attempts to X-ray her, running from the laboratory and making a scene in the street, where her husband had to restrain her, destroying the controlled nature of the test. However her defenders claimed to have witnessed events that could not be explained by trickery. In 1934, during a séance in Edinburgh, a sitter made a grab at one of her materialisations. The police were called, and the "spirit" was then alleged to be a stockinette undervest. Duncan was found guilty of affray and fake mediumship at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and sentenced to a £10 fine or one month in prison.Scotland's Last Witch (accessed 2008-02-29 Supporters of Duncan have later claimed that the verdict was not "guilty" but the Scottish verdict of "not proven", based on their interpretation that the conviction was for affray alone.Latest legal moves to secure Helen's Pardon (retrieved 2008-02-29) HMS Barham sinking During World War II, in November 1941, Duncan held a séance in Portsmouth at which she indicated knowledge that HMS Barham had been sunk. Because this fact was only revealed, in strict confidence, to the relatives of casualties, and not announced to the public until late January 1942, the Royal Navy started to take an interest in her activities. Two lieutenants were among her audience at a séance on 14 January 1944 and this was followed up on 19 January, when police arrested her at another séance as a white-shrouded manifestation appeared."Alleged Séance Deception" in The Times (24 March 1944), page 8 This proved to be Duncan herself, in a white cloth which she attempted to conceal when discovered, and she was arrested."Alleged Séance deceptions. Further evidence for the prosecution." in The Times (25 March 1944) page 2}} She was also found to be in possession of a mocked-up HMS Barham hat-band."British Lion, the Witch and Her Wardrobe." The Times 31 January 1998, p.2 This apparently related to an alleged manifestation of the spirit of a dead sailor on HMS Barham, although Duncan appeared unaware that after 1939 sailors did not wear hat-bands identifying their ship.http://bshistorian.wordpress.com/2008/04/] She was initially arrested under section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824, a minor offence tried by magistrates. However, the authorities regarded the case as more serious, and eventually discovered section 4 of the Witchcraft Act 1735, covering fraudulent "spiritual" activity, which was triable before a jury. Charged alongside her for conspiracy to contravene this Act were Ernest and Elizabeth Homer, who operated the Psychic centre in Portsmouth, and Frances Brown, who was Duncan's agent who went with her to set up séances. There were seven counts in total, two of conspiracy to contravene the Witchcraft Act, two of obtaining money by false pretences, and three of public mischief (a common law offence). The prosecution may be explained by the mood of suspicion prevailing at the time: the authorities were afraid that she could continue to reveal classified information, whatever her source was.Spell broken for 20th century witch. BBC, 31 January 1998 There were also concerns that she was exploiting the recently bereaved, as the Recorder noted when passing sentence."Medium sentenced for fraud" in The Times 4 April 1944, p.2 Duncan's trial for fraudulent witchcraft was a minor cause célèbre in wartime London. A number of prominent people, among them Alfred Dodd, an historian and senior Freemason, testified they were convinced she was authentic. Duncan was, however, barred by the judge from demonstrating her alleged powers as part of her defence against being fraudulent. The jury brought in a guilty verdict on count one, and the judge then discharged them from giving verdicts on the other counts, as he held that they were alternative offences for which Duncan might have been convicted had the jury acquitted her on the first count. Duncan was imprisoned for nine months. After the verdict, Winston Churchill wrote a memo to Home Secretary Herbert Morrison, complaining about the misuse of court resources on the "obsolete tomfoolery" of the charge.Unhappy Medium Repeal of the Witchcraft Act Duncan is often referred to as the last person to be convicted of being a witch, but this view is incorrect in two important aspects. Firstly, the Witchcraft Act 1735 under which she was convicted dealt not with witchcraft but with people who falsely claimed to be able to procure spirits. Secondly, there was a subsequent conviction under the act, of Jane Rebecca Yorke of Forest Gate in East Ham later in 1944; Yorke was bound over to keep the peace. On her release in 1945, Duncan promised to stop conducting séances; however, she was arrested during another one in 1956. She died at her home in Edinburgh a short time later. Duncan's trial almost certainly contributed to the repeal of the Witchcraft Act, which was contained in the Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 promoted by Walter Monslow, Labour Member of Parliament for Barrow-in-Furness. The campaign to repeal the Act had largely been led by Thomas Brooks, another Labour MP, who was a spiritualist. Duncan's original conviction still stood, and a campaign to have her posthumously pardoned continues. References Further reading *Gaskill, Malcolm. "Britain's Last Witch," History Today 51 (2001). *"Hellish Nell," The Daily Mirror, 6 December 2006: 24. *"The Last Witch-hunt", The Daily Mail 7 February 2005: 15. *"The Trial of Mrs Duncan", edited by C.E. Bechhofer Roberts (Jarrolds, London, 1945) *"Harry Price: The Psychic Detective' by Richard Morris (Sutton 2006) External links *Records relating to [[Harry Price]'s investigation into Helen Duncan] *Helen Duncan website *[http://www.webatomics.com/jason/barhamconspiracy.html Article in World War II magazine about Duncan and the HMS Barham] *The Harry Price Website - Psychical researcher Harry Price's 1931 examination of Helen Duncan's séance room practices. *Photograph of an alleged spirit manifestation by Helen Duncan *Article about Helen Duncan and the implications of subsequent legislation. *Campaign to have Helen Duncan posthumously pardoned Category:Mediums